Elders caring for elders: The harsh reality of B.C.’s care home shortage

The provincial government is defending its decision to hit pause on hundreds of badly needed care home beds.

A Sunday afternoon rally in Delta featured plenty of seniors advocating for more care homes and other supports, with some pointing out there are many seniors now caring for other seniors.

Read more: Delta residents rally for seniors’ care, denounce ‘broken’ promise

Families typically bear the brunt when a loved one can’t manage on their own, which can lead to severe stress and burnout. When that person is elderly themselves, they can find themselves needing help.

Howie McLennan told CTV News he’s “pushing 80” and caring for his spouse, who’s on a wait list.

“We have so many elders looking after elders, which just puts a compounded strain on the health-care system because you start out with one person needing caregiving and you quickly wind up with the caregiver needing caregiving, too,” he said. “It’s a problem and it needs to be solved because it’s not going away.”

That sentiment was repeated at the rally, which highlighted the pause in construction of seven new care homes in the province, and has been confirmed as a major issue in research done by B.C.’s seniors’ advocate.

Read more: B.C. budget: Projects put on pause as government ‘re-paces’ capital plan

“Caregiver distress is a real thing,” said Dan Levitt, whose office conducted a report into long-term care last year and solicited stories from British Columbians, and found people were even more overwhelmed than he anticipated.

“So by delaying those seven projects, it’s really putting further strain on family caregivers, emotionally, physically, financially,” he said. “We have to invest both in community care services and also building the infrastructure needed for long-term care where seniors live.”

While the construction and operation of care homes is undertaken by the health authorities, the Infrastructure Ministry has been scrutinizing projects that’ve gone over budget to figure out why and drive down those costs, pausing planning and construction as they do that work.

“I think it’s understandable that community members are concerned,” said Infrastructure Minister Bowinn Ma. “It’s the fiscal realities of the situation that our government and every government across Canada is facing (which) means that we have to take a hard look at the projects that we are moving ahead on.”

She said that when it comes to Delta’s Beedie Long-Term Care Centre in particular, while it was “significantly” over budget, “the project is not canceled; it will move ahead” once a more sustainable plan is in place.